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Who Lives Here: Lauren Zaner
Location: Burlington, Vermont
Size: 650 square feet

What is your one favorite element in your small, cool home? The turret — my apartment is the top floor of an old building and my living room is in the turret. Not only does it provide 180 degree view of the lake and tons of light through the windows, but the peaked roof gives the living room an almost tent like feel...it's such a unique element for the room, and an unexpected one at that as you don't notice it's peaked until you are in the living room!

What was one of the biggest challenges you faced in furnishing your small home? The layout of the apartment made it very tricky to get the right elements in to make it liveable and cater to my lifestyle which involves a lot of entertaining and dinner parties. The dining area is a small walkway space between the entry door and living room so I had to make sure to keep that area minimal and not cram the space. Additionally, the living room is a sort of hexagonal shape which lessens the amount of space you have to squeeze furniture in the already tiny area so finding the perfect layout to maximize the space was no easy task. The little cut-out nook near the couch ended up being the perfect area to tuck my overflowing bookcase and also showcase my antique bar, another staple for the very dinner-party heavy apartment. Things had to have multiple purposes — the trunk in the living room also serves as additional seating and houses guest linens. The cabinet under the bar holds all my trays and party platters as well as a back-stock of wine for emergencies. The dining table can be pulled out from the wall to accommodate more people, and when not in use, the other 2 chairs serve as great extra seating in the living room, and a dressing chair in my bedroom.

To work through these challenges, I had to go through many furniture rearrangements until it all fit and flowed well. I consulted many websites, magazines, took notes in other friends apartments, and talked to friends who live in even tinier spaces in New York to find ways to maximize my space.